Telecommunications Training Blog
Tutorials and articles from Teracom Training Institute. Bringing you the best in telecom training and certification since 1992.
Have you been waiting for an In-Person Telecommunications course on the west coast?
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Telecom Boot Camp – Apr 3-7 2023 Santa Clara, California.
Course 101 Apr 3-5 2023
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BOOT CAMP Live Online – Feb 6-10 2023
BOOT CAMP In-Person Washington DC – March 6-10 2023
BOOT CAMP Live Online, also called a virtual telecom course, has been so well received, what we thought was a temporary solution for the pandemic is scheduled on an ongoing basis.
Advantages which are budget-friendly and appreciated by management like:
Significant cost savings
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Get dispersed team members up to a common speed
Well-suited to work from home
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Online courses and certifications included
Boot Camp In-Person
Time for a change of scenery and career-enhancing training!
Live, in-person, in-classroom training is the gold standard in training: the best you can get.
Attendees often network, and go out to lunch together.
Stretch your legs in the evening with a stroll along the reflecting pool, or checking out the scene of the crimes at the Capitol!
Enjoy this free Tutorial from the
Certified Wireless Analyst Certification package
Course 2232 Mobile Communications
Lesson 7 Mobile Network Operators, MVNOs & Roaming
Course 2232 Mobile Communications is the second course in the CWA Certification Package covering mobile communications from A to Z.
This is where the money is!
Cellular Principles • Mobility • Handoffs • PSTN Phone Calls • Mobile Internet • FDMA, TDMA, CDMA, OFDM • GSM, UMTS, HSPA • LTE and OFDMA • 5G New Radio • mmWave • IoT
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Available in Softcover, Hardcover and eBook.
The CWA Study Guide is an essential enhancement to the TCO Certified Wireless Analyst Certification Package.
The CWA Study Guide contains detailed notes and graphics corresponding exactly to the CWA lessons.
This book therefore contains all of the answers to the CWA exam questions!
Having a companion reference textbook avoids the need to take notes, and greatly enhances learning and retention, helping you learn and burn the concepts into the neurons of your brain.
The book is invaluable as a printed companion to online courses, and can also be used for self-learning without online courses.
In both cases, it will serve as an excellent day-to-day reference and handbook.
Lesson 3 of CWA Course 2231 Wireless Fundamentals
20 minutes running time.
Every country has the sovereign right to manage energy at radio frequencies in its territory. When the airspace through which the radio waves travel is public property (which is most of the time), and there is contention for its use (which is all of the time), regulation is required to allow the rational use of the shared resource.
…
The range of radio frequencies, called the radio spectrum, is divided into blocks of frequencies allocated for different services. Allocations are divided into allotments, which are bands of frequencies assigned to specific users or to the public. A license to emit radio-frequency energy at the specified frequencies in a specified area is issued by government to record the assignment of the allotment and the conditions for its use.
… these lesson notes continue on page 19 of the CWA Study Guide.
All courses updated, with new lessons on LTE, 5G, MVNOs and more.
Release special: 30% off CWA Unlimited Plan regular price of $359.
$249 Limited-time offer.
Major update of CWA Courses, along with the CWA Study Guide and TCO Certification Exam released.
CWA delivers the core technical knowledge needed by anyone serious in the wireless business today…
… and TCO Certification to prove it!
Get More Info on CWA Certification
CWA Courses:
2231 Wireless Fundamentals
2232 Mobile Communications
2233 Fixed Wireless
Release special: 30% off CWA Unlimited Plan regular price of $359. $249 Limited-time offer.
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Previous purchasers: new lessons are already in your dashboard under the free updates policy.
Extracted from Chapter 9 of the Telecom 101 reference book.
Note: acronyms and abbreviations used below are explained in lessons leading up to this one.
9.7 Mobile Operators, MVNOs and Roaming
9.7.1 Mobile Network Operator
Mobile Network Operator (MNO) is the term usually used to refer to a facilities-based carrier, i.e. a company that owns base stations, a mobile switch, backhaul between them, and spectrum licenses, and sells services to the public… and to other carriers.
The MNO implements external links to other carriers for PSTN phone calls and for Internet traffic.
For PSTN phone calls, the MNO implements a fiber optic connection to a building traditionally called a Toll Center or Class 4 switching office. The termination of their fiber in that building is called a POP. It is their physical point of presence in the building.
Many other carriers have POPs in the building, including the ILEC, IXCs, CATV companies, other mobile carriers, and any other company that wants to connect phone calls to a phone on the MNO’s network.
The operator of the toll center, usually the ILEC, provides a switch in the Toll Center to switch phone calls from one carrier’s POP to a different carrier’s POP.
For Internet access, the MNO implements a fiber optic connection to one or more Internet Exchange buildings, where they pay the operator of the IX to route packets to other carriers with whom the MNO has established IP packet transit and peering arrangements.
9.7.2 Mobile Virtual Network Operator
Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) is the term used to refer to a non-facilities-based carrier… one that does not own the hardware or spectrum licenses or POPs.
Instead, the MVNO enters into a long-term contract with one or more facilities-based carriers to have them supply a “white label” service that the MVNO sells.
Typically the MVNO will develop a unique branding and sell smartphones and tablets to go along with its service.
When the MVNO deals exclusively with one carrier, the MVNO bill to the customer would be typically generated by the facilities-based carrier as a white-label service.
If the MVNO is very large and deals with multiple carriers, the MVNO may operate their own billing system, which is a significant investment.
The facilities-based carrier charges to the MVNO includes a volume-discount rate for IP addresses and Internet traffic, voice-minute airtime and switched access to the POP for PSTN phone calls.
The MVNO also has to pay for connectivity from the POP to other toll centers for “long-distance” connections, and the switched-access charge at the far end.
The rate plan the MVNO pays could be a mix of fixed-rate leases and usage-based billing.
Unless the MNO is obliged to sell capacity to MVNOs through regulations and tariffs, the nature of the plan is confidential business information.
9.7.3 Roaming
Roaming service is very similar to the service provided to MVNOs, in that it is the MNO that is providing the airlink, base stations, backhaul, mobile switch and connections to the PSTN and Internet.
In the case of roaming, the visitor uses their own phone, and billing is usage-based.
Roaming is an important feature for smaller players: they are facilities-based in selected cities, but to offer a national and international service to their customers, they must have roaming agreements in place with MNOs in other locations.
By denying roaming service to smaller or startup carriers, or charging an exorbitant price for roaming, an incumbent carrier can erect a barrier against competition.
In many countries, the right to roam and the wholesale cost of roaming is regulated to encourage competition.
These topics are covered in:
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BOOT CAMP is Course 101 and 130 back-to-back to make a whole week, packaged with a discount as Course 111. Career- and productivity-enhancing training, two course books with detailed notes, printed in color, totaling over 600 pages, plus bonus CTNS, CVA and CTA Certification Packages, for only $1895 Live Online (regular $2495 In-Person).
The Introduction to Broadband Converged IP Telecom course is the first course in our self-study CTNS certification package and the CTSME certification bundle, and the first chapter in our instructor-led Course 101 and Boot Camp.
It provides an overview of the material that we cover in our training and gives you a taste of the style and format of our online training.
Watch the introduction session for free and gain an understanding of all the topics which are taught in more detail throughout the training.
The core knowledge needed in telecom today, with eight courses covering all major topics – plus TCO Certification to prove it!
The internationally-recognized TCO CTNS Certification is the core telecommunications network knowledge required by everyone serious in the telecom world today.
Bust the buzzwords, demystify the jargon, understand the fundamental concepts, technologies and standard practices … and most importantly, the underlying ideas, and how it all fits together.
The eight full-length courses in the CTNS Certification Package cover all major areas of telecom, datacom and networking.
You will start by getting up to speed on all major topics with the new 2021 course Introduction to Broadband Converged IP Telecom plus fully up-to-date courses on Cellular and Wi-Fi, VoIP and SIP, the PSTN, OSI Layers, LANs and Optical Ethernet, IP and MPLS.
For an individual, this knowledge and preparation makes you an ideal candidate to hire or promote to a task, as you will be able to build on your knowledge base to quickly get up to speed and work on a particular project – then have the versatility to work on subsequent projects.
For an employer, CTNS is an extremely cost-effective way of getting team members and new hires up to a common speed with a common vocabulary and reference. The myTeracom Learning Management System can generate team progress reports. A discount of 40% is available for 5 seats or more.
This investment will be repaid many times over in the future in terms of lowered buzzword frustration and higher accuracy and productivity. Get started today!
The coursework for CTNS is a set of eight high-quality online multimedia courses. The content outline for each course is below. Click on the course name or scroll down for detailed descriptions, what you will learn, and free lessons.
Course 2241: Introduction to Broadband Converged IP Telecom
• Specifically designed for non-engineers
• Introduction and first pass through all aspects of today’s telecom
• Convergence • Broadband • Network Core and Edge • Protocols
• Last Mile Copper, Fiber and Wireless • Network Equipment
• Residential, Business and Wholesale Services • Carrier Connections
Course 2206: Wireless Telecommunications
• Mobile network, radio and cellular fundamentals
• Phone calls and mobile Internet over cellular
• 4G LTE, OFDMA, 5G new spectrum, new applications
• Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi security, and satellite communications
Course 2221: Fundamentals of Voice over IP
• The Big Picture. VoIP Phones and Terminals
• Voice in IP Packets. Soft Switches / SIP Servers / Call Managers
• Media Servers, Gateways, LAN and WAN, SIP Trunking, Standards
• Where All of This is Headed: Broadband IP Dial Tone
Course 2201: The PSTN
• Required knowledge while there remains a large installed base
• Loops and trunks, analog, the voiceband
• LECs, CLECs and IXCs. POTS and SS7
Course 2212: OSI Layers and Protocol Stacks
• Protocols and standards. The OSI Model
• Layers: Layer 2 vs. Layer 3. Examples
• Protocol stacks. How protocol stacks work
Course 2211: LANs, VLANs, Wireless and Optical Ethernet
• LAN fundamentals. Ethernet and 802 standards
• MAC addresses and MAC frames
• LAN switches, broadcast domains and VLANs
• Ethernet on twisted pair (Cat 5e/6 cables), radio (Wi-Fi) and fiber (Optical Ethernet)
Course 2213: IP Networks, Routers and Addresses
• Packet network fundamentals. Routers
• IP packets and IP addresses
• Static & dynamic, public & private addresses
• Network Address Translation (NAT). IPv6.
Course 2214: MPLS and Carrier Networks
• Carrier network basics. Customer Edge (CE) device
• Service Level Agreements and CoS
• MPLS for traffic management, VPNs, integrated access
• MPLS Services vs. Internet service
Invest in yourself with the CTNS Certification Package!
Eight CTNS courses plus TCO Certification, giving you a solid foundation in telecom, datacom and networking, from modern IP telecom, wireless, VoIP and PSTN to Ethernet, IP networking and MPLS.
Plus, get your Telecommunications Certification Organization (TCO) Certified Telecommunications Network Specialist (CTNS) Certification to prove it!
Upgrade your skills – and your résumé – with this training and certification today!
The CTNS Certification Package Unlimited Plan includes the eight CTNS Courses and CTNS Certification Exam, both with unlimited repeats – which means guaranteed to pass if you’re willing to do the work, and refresh your knowledge anytime.